First Strathmore Hockey Summit a success

By Brady Grove, Times Reporter

The high level, two-day hockey instruction camp, Strathmore Hockey Summit, tested participants’ strength, both mentally and physically, and was a huge success, according to organizers.
The summit, hosted by Crowther Memorial Junior High School (CMJHS) and Westmount Elementary School, was held Jan. 17-18 at the Strathmore Family Centre and Civic Centre. The summit allowed about 120 students from Grades 5-9 to participate in on-ice and off-ice practices with experienced teachers and athletes.
“It gives our kids another perspective from instructors and some exposure to elite level instruction,” said CMJHS hockey program coordinator Brad Huntley. “Every single kid I’ve talked to has gotten something good out of it. They all say they learned a lot.”
There were four groups of students and each group participated in two on-ice sessions and two off ice-sessions per day. Players received on-ice instruction from several sources which was an important component to the summit.
“We felt it was important because they (students) got an opportunity to experience top-notch instruction from professionals from all over Alberta and Canada,” said Westmount elementary teacher and hockey program leader Kyle Tucker. “They got to experience ‘the wizards’ of each category.”
Elite level skating training and concepts were taught by Quantum Speed owner Vanessa Hettinger who is one of Hockey Canada’s two master skating instructors. Scoring and shooting was instructed by Dean Seymour and Tanner House who have both played at a pro level. Goalies weren’t left behind and were shadowed and pulled aside for specific lessons by Fisher Goaltending and Dylan Sutton during the on-ice times.
The off-ice program was centered around two ideas: floorball and mixed martial arts (MMA). Floorball features a whiffle ball and whiffle-bladed sticks. According to Huntley, it’s an easy game to learn but a hard game to master, and is the preferred off-ice training method recommended by Hockey Canada. Pier-Alexandre Poulin and Teal Grove are managers within the Hockey Canada schooling program and taught the students at the summit on the first day while Tucker ran the sessions on the second day.
Working on creating multi-sport athletes was also a theme of the summit – learning other sports can help students develop different muscles, techniques and thinking in different ways.
“The mixed martial arts gave the kids a totally different training regimen than what they’ve been used to if they were training as a hockey player,” said Tucker. “Studies show multi-sport athletes tend to have more success and transferable skills that carry through sport.”
The MMA training was taught by local Justin Schmidt from APEX MMA, and Huntley taught proper stretching and different techniques/concepts such as “active stick,” which is a positional defensive technique. Instead of trying to line up the big body check, which usually results in a missed hit and offensive opportunity going the other way, instructors are pushing the active stick technique which adopts a more assertive posture by staying with the aggressors while trying to poke the puck away or letting them make a mistake because of defensive pressure.
The students were also treated to guest speaker Rebecca Johnston on Jan. 17. Johnston plays for the Calgary Inferno and the National Women’s team. She holds three Olympic medals and is a two-time world champion.
The idea for the Strathmore Hockey Summit began in 2017 when Huntley visited Ottawa for a Hockey Canada seminar. Huntley went to the Calgary event in 2018 and modelled the summit after the seminar. Tucker is part of the Westmount Elementary, CMJHS and Strathmore High School staff and joined the project once he heard about it.
According to Huntley, the skill of the students varied widely, from kids who had never played on a hockey team all the way up to the AA level. The summit also provided Huntley a chance to look at potential players coming to CMJHS over the next few years.
“It’s our belief that we’re not just making hockey players but athletes,” said Huntley. “Beyond that, we’re developing individuals, not just athletes, and working on character development and emotional support.”
The Summit also offered a work experience component for 25 special needs students. The students participated in set-up and managing the event, assisted the caterers and cleaned up after. Huntley praised the effort and work of the students and staff that helped on the logistical side of things.
Huntley and Tucker hope the summit can be held again next year, citing the positive response to this year’s event. Future summits would be expanded to include more schools such as Strathmore High School.
Potential summit program expansions include the addition of a classroom session to give the players a chance to recover physically and allow them to focus on improving player’s hockey IQ. Adding a component about nutritional education has also been discussed.
Huntley and Tucker both pointed out that this summit wouldn’t have happened without the support of administration and teachers who allowed such a large number of their students to participate in the event.
“It was a huge success. All the kids had an amazing time. They were pretty exhausted after, but they all came back with smiles on their faces,” said Tucker.